For more than half a century, Thanksgiving weekend in Niagara has meant a trip to Ball's Falls. The 52nd Ball's Falls Thanksgiving Festival runs from Friday, October 9th to Monday, October 12th, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day, at Ball's Falls Conservation Area, 3292 Sixth Avenue in Lincoln.
What's on
- more than 150 artisans and craft vendors
- a farmers' market, local food, wine and craft beverages
- live music and family entertainment, including magic shows
- birds of prey demonstrations by the Canadian Raptor Conservancy
- train rides and displays from the Niagara Antique Power Association
- heritage demonstrations and tours in the historic village of Glen Elgin
- guided nature hikes in the Twenty Mile Creek valley, at its best in fall colours
The full entertainment schedule and the vendor list are on the Ball's Falls Thanksgiving Festival website.
Tickets
- $12 general admission, ages 12 and up
- $9 for seniors 65 and over, and for children 6 to 11
- free for children 5 and under
The Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority, which runs the Ball's Falls Thanksgiving Festival, gives $1 from every general admission ticket to the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Foundation.
Getting there
The main entrance is off Seventh Avenue. Parking on site is limited, so carpool if you can. Accessible parking is at the Ball's Falls Centre for Conservation, 3292 Sixth Avenue, entered from Victoria Avenue.
Good to know
- The Ball's Falls Thanksgiving Festival goes ahead rain or shine, so dress for the weather and wear good walking shoes.
- Pets aren't allowed. Service animals are welcome.
The story behind the place
Ball's Falls is named for the family that built a business here more than 200 years ago. By 1809, brothers John and George Ball had built a four-storey grist mill on Twenty Mile Creek, and during the War of 1812 it supplied flour to British troops. By the late 1840s, Ball's Grist Mill was part of a complex with sawmills and woollen mills, and George Peter Mann Ball laid out a village called Glen Elgin, hoping to build an industrial town. When the Great Western Railway bypassed it in the early 1850s, those plans faded.
Ball's Grist Mill closed in 1910, and in 1962 the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority bought it from the Ball family. Today it's the heart of a heritage village that comes alive every Thanksgiving, full of local makers, farmers and visitors.